Balancing a Full Plate
Hey there sweet friends,
If you're anything like me, and I bet you are just little. Your plate is full.
I'm not talking about your dinner plate (we will get to that in due time)
I'm talking about your "Life Plate"
I feel much like the sisters in this funny story:

Three sisters ages 92, 94 and 96 live in a house together. One night the 96 year old draws a bath. She puts her foot in and pauses... She yells to the other sisters, "Was I getting in or out of the bath?" The 94 year old yells back, "I don't know. I'll come up and see." She starts up the stairs and pauses "Was I going up the stairs or down?" The 92 year old is sitting at the kitchen table having tea listening to her sisters. She shakes her head and says, "I sure hope I never get that forgetful, knock on wood." She then yells, "I'll come up and help both of you as soon as I see who's at the door."

Get the picture?

Wife, Mom, Teacher, Friend, Neighbor, Employee, Employer, Choir Member, Taxi Driver, Cookie Baker, Boo-Boo Healer, Cook, Dish Washer, Laundry Queen, Domestic Diva, Landscaper,Organizer, Bill Payer, Speaker, Writer. Where do you fit in on this list.... I'm sure I've forgotten many things.
Care to add to the list?

While I may not do all these things everyday (I think the last time I mowed the yard was 2001).
and some things have been voluntarily removed from my plate (kids grow up, move out, can't sing any longer and cookies are off limits in our house) there is this matter of balancing the plate we're carrying.

Any who... As I preach to the choir here, I'm just wondering what sort of things you can share about how you choose the things that are on your plate and how you balance said plate


Happy Balancing


4 Comments:

Blogger Chef Diane said...

Choir here,

Oh my Zoe,let me tell you girlfriend;

I could,

"bring home the bacon,
fry it up in the pan,
feed each little piggy
then take care of the big one we
called "daddy" of our special clan.
hee hee

As I look back it's a wonder I am not in some underwater basket weaving class.

By the grace of God I got through it. That is why He gives us kids why we are young. If not we would lay them down some where and forget where we put them. (tee hee)

For me I have had to look at the things that matter now. The things I choose to spend my energy on.

Hum, do I want to spend the energy I have scrubbing the bathroom or with a girlfriend who needs to talk?

Are the dishes in the sink as important as sitting beside a loved one and listening to their day?

If it means cutting coupons to save money one place to afford a cleaning service to spend time with loved ones, I do it.

Hope all is well.
Hugs

Blogger Joyful said...

Hey Zoe, one of the "Soprano" voices joining in.

Before dropping or adding a plate, I pray... a lot! I want to know before I add or delete anything, where does the Lord want me and what does He desire I be doing.

Along with this comes the need to say 'no'. Some people really struggle with saying 'no' to any request. Being a people pleaser myself, that's been a lesson I had to learn, but it's been so beneficial. I can't do it all! God doesn't want me to do it all. His desire is much more that I "be still and know that He is God."

Like Diane, relationships come before routine. Tea/coffee with a friend wins out over laundry and cleaning bathrooms any day! :)

I did a post almost 2 years ago now entitled, "Balancing Act". You might like to read it: http://princessjoyful.blogspot.com/2008/04/balancing-act.html It was one where I too was seeking wisdom from friends to see how they juggled the plates given them.

To rewrite the verse in Jeremiah, "I know the 'plates' I have for you declares the Lord..."

Trusting in Him to guide,
Love ya,
Joy

Blogger Joyful said...

Was thinking...I just wanted to come back and "Amen" what Diane said above.

She walks the talk. Sunday night she gave up a couple of hours of her time to try and talk me through some computer issues I'm having with my laptop. She patiently offered assistance and honestly spent more than 2 hours trying to help me fix my techy problems. She was working with a real novice, and I'm sure I drove her crazy at times and frustrated the life out of her, but her kind responses always made me smile. She might be wishing she never picked up this little "plate", but I'm glad she did!

I'm so thankful for the friends the Lord has placed in my life, and thankful that their plates spin close to mine! :)
Hugs,
Joy

Anonymous Jenny said...

Hi Zoe,
It's funny I came across this today. Yesterday where I work at had a class on goal setting. As I listened I decided to apply the principles to my life. (I work in a Real Estate office as admin support, so while everyone else was focused on their RE careers, I was looking at life.)

The biggest thing I took from it was to make a BIG goal (3 years), medium (1 year) and small (this month). But you had to really focus, not have 15 big goals etc.

So took my notebook and went to Chic-Fil-A for lunch, and daydream with God. Now I'm trying to hold up everything asking will this help me achieve my goal?

It has already started making me re-think some things.

Sorry this is so long!

Have a great day!

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